Cattle-guard



H. 'G. CONNELL AND A. J. SWINDALL. CATTLE GUARD.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3, 1919.

'1 344,262. Patented June 22, 1920.

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Howard G. Connell, and Alberl Jyswz'nddll.

ATTORNEY-$4 UNITED STATES,

PATENT oFHcE. v

I HOWARD G. CORNELL AND ALBERT J. SWINDALL, OF DRYAD, WASHINGTON.

CATTLE-GUARD.

Application filed fiarch 3,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HOWARD G. Con- NELL and A BERT J. SwiNoALL, citizen'sof the United; States, residing at Dryad, in the county of Lewis, State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cattle-Guards, and we do hereby declare the followin to be a full, clear, and exact description 0' the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in guards and particularly to cattle guards for railways.

One object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved device of this character which will move when an animal steps thereon and which will automatically be restored to normal position when the animal removes itself therefrom.

Another object is to provide a novel and improved device of this character which is capable of being installed on the railway without modifications thereto.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 isa top plan view of the improved cattle guard in position on the rail- *ig. 2 is an enlarged vertical transverse sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, longitudinally of the railway, and enlarged.

Fig. 4: is a bottom plan view of the device.

Referring particularly to the accompanying drawing, 10 represents the ties of the railway, and 11 the rails thereof. Carried by the ends of two adjacent ties are the depending brackets 12, and supported in these brackets and extending between said ties are the metal track bars 13. Disposed longitudinally between the ties are the two beams 14, and 15, the former being nor mally close to the adjacent tie while the latter is normally a suitable distance from the other tie. Supported in brackets on the lower faces of the ends of the said beams are the grooved rollers or wheels 16 which run on the before-mentioned track bars 13. A plurality of spacing and bracing strips Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 22, 1920.

1919. Serial No. 280,363.

, therein notches or recesses 18 lined with sheet metal strips 19 to prevent excessive wear of the walls of said recesses as the guard moves beneath the rails. Secured to the upper faces of the strips 17, and extending transversely between the rails, are i the metal guard blades 20. It will be noted that the ends of the blades are spaced from the rails to permit the flanges of the car wheels to escape the said ends. Secured to the strips 17 and extending outwardly from the outer sides of the rails, are the shorter guard blades 21.,

Connected to one of the ties, at one end, and at their other ends to the adjacent beam 14, are the strong springs 22 which normally hold the entire structure close to the said tie, but when an animal steps on the guard the device will move on the track bars against the tension of the springs. When the animal feels itself moving it will draw back and get off the guard. Immediately that the animal gets off the guard the springs 22 draw the guard back into normal position adjacent the tie to which the springs are attached; Also certain of the ties may carry buffer springs 23 to reduce the shock when the structure is moved quickly to an extreme position.

There is thus provided a novel and improved device which will effectively keep animals from railways.

What is claimed is:

l. A railway cattle guard comprising tracks supported by and between certain ties parallel with the rails, a frame structure having wheels movably mounted on said tracks, and blades carried by the structure between and outside the rails.

2. A railway cattle guard comprising tracks supported by and between certain contiguous ties, two beams underlying the rails and overlying said tracks and having wheels traveling on the latter, stri s connecting the beams and movable wit them longitudinally of the railway, and blades mounted on the strips. I

3. A railway cattle guard comprising brackets on contiguous faces of airs of adjacent ties, tracks connecting sai brackets and standing parallel with and below the line of the rails, beams between the ties of each pair movably mounted on said tracks and underlying the rails and notched beneath the latter, strips connecting said beams, and blades carried by the strips.

4. A railway cattle guard comprising tracks supported between pairs of contiguous ties parallel with and below the line of the rails, transverse beams underlying the rails between the ties of each pair and having wheels traveling on said tracks, strips supported by the beams, and blades carried by the strips.

5. In a 'ailway cattle guard, the combination with tracks paralleling the rails between contiguous ties, a frame structure in cluding beams having wheels movable on said tracks, and blades carried by such structure; of springs holding said guard at one limit of its movement.

6. In a railway cattle guard, the combination with tracks paralleling the rails be tween contiguous ties, a frame structure including beams having wheels movable on said tracks, and blades carried by such structure; of bulfer springs for cushioning the movement of said guard to one extreme limit, and yielding means for holding it at one extreme.

In testimony whereof, we afiix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

HOl/VARD G. CONNELL. ALBERT J. SWINDALL. Witness as to Howard G. Connell: Mrs. A. C. MOORE. Witness as to Albert J Swindall: NANCY TAYLOR STIDHAM. 

